The Ice Queen's Return: Vengeance I. Velvet Heels

Evelyn's POV

The last thing I felt was the cold. It wasn’t a winter chill, but a heavy, draining cold that started in my chest and spread to my fingertips. I was lying on the floor of a penthouse I once thought was my sanctuary. Above me, Marcus was swirling a glass of wine. He didn't look like the prince I had betrayed my husband for. He looked like a butcher.

"You really were pathetic, Evelyn," he said. His voice was smooth, devoid of any of the love he’d promised me for years.

"Did you think I’d actually keep a woman who turns on her own family so easily? If you did it to Caleb, you’d do it to me."

Beside him, Sarah—my best friend, the woman who had coached me through every cruel argument with my husband—leaned down and smiled.

"Don't worry, Eve. I’ll take good care of Caleb’s assets once we’re finished. And that brat of yours? I’m sure a boarding school in another country will handle him."

I tried to scream, but my lungs felt like they were filled with water. The last thing I saw was the two of them clinking their glasses over my body.

Then, light. Blinding, harsh, white light.

I gasped, my hand flying to my throat. I wasn't bleeding. I wasn't on a cold floor. I was sitting at my vanity table, clutching a silk robe so tightly my knuckles were white. The air smelled of expensive roses and vanilla.

I looked in the mirror and gasped. My face—it was younger. The bitterness hadn't fully etched lines around my mouth yet. My skin was glowing, and my eyes weren't sunken from years of regret.

"I'm alive?" I whispered. My voice sounded thin and shaky. "I’m back?"

I checked the digital clock on the vanity. May 14th. My heart nearly stopped. This was the morning of the Spring Gala. In my past life, this was the day I had used my husband’s biometric key to steal the "Aegis Project" blueprints from his study while he was in the shower. I had handed them to Marcus that night, thinking I was helping my "true love" win a business war. Instead, I had signed Caleb’s downfall and my own death warrant.

A small, timid thud at the door broke my thoughts.

The door creaked open just a few inches. A pair of wide, dark eyes peered through the gap. It was Leo. My son. He was barely four years old, wearing his pajamas with the little dinosaurs on them. In my past life, I had called him a "mistake" because he kept me tied to Caleb.

But now...

"Mummy?" he whispered. He saw a bottle of perfume I had knocked over in my shock. It lay shattered on the floor. His entire body flinched. "I... I heard a noise. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."

I stared at him, my vision blurring with tears. This was the child I had neglected. The child I had left to be raised by nannies while I chased a man who eventually killed me.

"Leo," I choked out.

He started to tremble, his small hands gripping the doorframe. "I'll go back to my room! I won't be loud, I promise! Don't tell Daddy I came in here."

"No, no, Leo. Come here," I said, reaching out.

He froze, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Are you going to hit my hand again?"

The memory of the last time I had snapped at him for touching my things flashed in my mind. I felt sick. "Never. I am never going to do that again. I'm so sorry, Leo. I'm so, so sorry."

I got off my stool and knelt on the carpet. "Come here, baby."

He tentatively walked toward me. I pulled him into my arms. He was stiff at first, his little heart racing against my chest. I buried my face in his neck, breathing in the scent of baby shampoo. I sobbed openly, my tears wetting his pajamas.

"Is Mummy crying?" Leo asked. He moved his small hand and patted my shoulder. "Did the glass hurt you? Don't cry, Mummy. I'll get a bandage."

"No, baby, I'm okay," I sobbed, holding him tighter. "I'm just so happy to see you. You're such a good boy."

"Evelyn? What is going on here?"

The voice was deep and cold. I looked up. Caleb was standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, his tie not yet done. When he looked at me, there was no love—only a weary, guarded suspicion.

He saw me on the floor, disheveled and crying, clutching Leo. His expression darkened. He stepped into the room and scooped Leo up out of my arms, placing the boy behind his legs.

"If you have a problem with me, take it out on me," Caleb said. "Stop scaring the boy with your hysterics."

I wiped my face with the back of my hand. "I wasn't taking anything out on him, Caleb."

Caleb glanced at the shattered perfume bottle. "Then what is this? Another tantrum because I wouldn't buy you that estate in France? Or is this about Marcus again?"

The mention of Marcus made me flinch. "I don't want the estate. And I don't want Marcus."

Caleb let out a short, dry laugh. "Right. And I'm supposed to believe that? Every time you act like this, you're usually covering up something you've done. What is it this time? Did you overdraw the accounts?"

"No," I said, standing up slowly. "I just dropped it. I’ll clean it up."

"Leave it for the maids," Caleb said. "Go get ready for your gala. Isn't that what you live for? The cameras and the attention?"

"I'm not sure I even want to go," I whispered.

Caleb stepped closer. He smelled of cedarwood and stability. "Don't play games. We’ve had this gala on the calendar for months. It’s a corporate requirement. You will put on your dress, you will smile for the press, and you will pretend we are a happy family for exactly three hours. After that, you can go back to ignoring us."

He looked down at Leo. "Leo, go with Mrs. Higgins. She has your breakfast ready."

Leo looked at me, then at his father, and nodded quickly before scurrying out.

Caleb turned to leave, but I reached out and touched his sleeve. He pulled his arm away as if I were fire.

"What?" he snapped.

"I... I'm sorry about the mess. And the noise," I said.

Caleb narrowed his eyes. He looked for the lie, the sarcasm, the hidden agenda. When he didn't find it, he looked even more annoyed.

"You're acting strange," he said. "Just... don't cause a scene tonight. I have enough to deal with at the office."

"Caleb, wait," I called out.

He stopped at the door but didn't turn around.

"I'll be ready on time," I said. "And I'll be on your side tonight. Truly."

He didn't say anything. He just stood there for a second, his shoulders tense, before walking out.

I sank back down onto the vanity stool. My heart was still pounding. I had been given a second chance, but the damage I had done was massive. Caleb didn't trust me, my son was afraid of me, and by tonight, a murderer would be waiting for me to hand him the keys to our destruction.

I picked up a piece of the broken glass. "Not this time," I whispered. "This time, I’m going to protect them."

I walked over to the phone on the wall and pressed the button for the kitchen.

"Mrs. Higgins?" I said when the housekeeper picked up.

"Yes, Madam? Do you need your tea?" Her voice was clipped.

"No," I said. "Tell Leo I’ll be down to have breakfast with him in ten minutes. And please make sure there are extra pancakes."

There was a long pause. "Pancakes, Madam?"

"Yes," I said. "Pancakes."

I hung up the phone. It was a small step, but it was the first one. I wasn't the woman who died in that penthouse anymore. As the warm water of the shower hit my skin, I closed my eyes and visualized the blueprints I was supposed to steal. I knew exactly where they were. And I knew exactly how I was going to use them to destroy Marcus before he could ever touch my family again.